Maybe This Christmas (A Gaara Love Story)
by Anna-The-Unworthy
Summary: Kyoko Tachibana, a girl who's heart has been frozen by the death of her father, despises Christmas, since it's the day her father was murdered. But maybe... Just maybe... This Christmas will different. Maybe a certain red headed Kazekage can change her mind. Though, he isn't too keen on Christmas carols either. Perhaps they can both learn to love the season, and each other as well.


**AN:** Hey, what's up, you guys? This is my new story~ And my only one. ;_; Hope you like it, second chapter coming soon! I don't own Naruto or any of the characters besides Kyoko. This is Rated T for some swear words.

/~/

Kyoko sighed, staring at her forehead protect whilst shining it. It was the week before Christmas, and of course, she had gotten gifts for her friends, like always. But for eight Christmases in a row, she never felt happy or joyful. Sure, she gave gifts, but that was so her friends wouldn't complain. Especially Naruto and Kiba. She rolled her eyes. And of course, she got gifts as well. But she always insisted that they be practical, so she could use them every day. As a matter of fact, she was wearing her favorite t- shirt right now. One that Sakura gave her two Christmases ago. It still fit, surprisingly. Kyoko sighed again, glancing at the window. It always snowed in Konoha during the winter. Apparently, this winter was an exception. The reason her Christmases were always so sorrowful was because of her father. At the age of nine, her father had to leave for a week on an A-Rank mission. He would be gone until Christmas day. He was suppose to return Christmas morning. He never did. He was caught by thugs on the way back, and murdered.

Her mother healed a little quicker than Kyoko, but Kyoko could never get over it. Every single Christmas since then was a complete downer for her. Kyoko looked around her small apartment. She never decorated it. It was too much of a reminder. It was safe to say that she truly hated the entire season. Her phone rang, and she went to answer it. ''Hello?'' she asked.

''_Kyoko-chan_!'' Kyoko inwardly groaned.

''Hey, Naruto-kun. What do you want?''

''_You need to meet me, Sakura and Sasuke at the ramen stand. Now!_''

''Wait, I don't think-'' Dial tone. Kyoko growled. ''NARUTO! DAMMIT!''

A few minutes later, Kyoko was walking toward the ramen stand, arms crossed. She had to put on her usual outfit of dark blue harem pants, her shinobi sandals and a black tank top under a fishnet shirt. Her Konoha forehead protector was tied around her arm. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were standing there with three Sand ninja she'd never met before. They all looked seventeen or older, just like her. Kyoko sighed and stopped when she arrived. ''Hello, Sasuke.'' ''Hey, Kyoko.''

''Hi, Sakura.'' ''Hi, Kyoko.'' They both looked just as fed up as she did. Kyoko's gaze landed on Naruto finally. ''What did you want, Naruto?'' she demanded.

''I wanted you to meet the Sand Siblings!'' Naruto shouted. Kyoko's eye twitched and she glanced at the three Sand ninja. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the shortest. Her eyes narrowed. He looked just like her father used to, except he was much shorter and her father didn't have strange black circles around his eyes.. But it was the same dark auburn hair and light teal eyes. She managed finally to choke out a small, ''Hello.'' The girl smiled at her.

''Hello, I'm Temari no Sabaku and these are my brothers.'' The taller boy waved. ''Hey, I'm Kankuro.'' She nodded at them. It was silent for a moment. ''Gaara.'' Kyoko looked at the short one again, her heart pumping loudly.

''I'm sorry, what was that?'' she said, as sweetly as she could, what with all the shock she was going through.

''My name is Gaara.'' Kyoko stood there, frozen for a moment. Sakura nudged her.

''Oh, yes of course. Nice to meet you all. My name's Tachibana Kyoko .'' The three nodded. Kyoko had to fight herself the whole time so she wouldn't gasp.

''Well, I have to...'' she quickly attempted to come up with a reason for why she had to leave. ''Decorate! Yes. That. Decorate.'' Naruto's eyes gleamed.

''You're finally going to decorate your apartment? You haven't done that since your fa-'' he was quickly silenced by a punch in the head from Sakura.

''Naruto, don't be an idiot!'' Kyoko tensed up.

''Yes, well. Bye.'' Kyoko turned and left, taking a deep breath as she went. Great. Now she would have to decorate her apartment in some way.

/~/

Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Temari and Kankuro watched Kyoko go with confusion. ''What was that?'' Sasuke demanded, scowling slightly. Sakura shrugged.

''I don't know.''

Naruto only laughed. ''Kyoko's finally getting into the Christmas spirit, that's what it was!''

Sakura frowned. ''I don't think that after all these years Kyoko would be any happier about the holidays than before.'' Sakura pointed out. Sasuke nodded in agreement. Temari arched an eyebrow.

''What are you guys talking about?'' she asked.

''Kyoko really really doesn't like Christmas.'' Sakura explained.

''Why?'' Kankuro chimed in.

''I don't think it's in our place to tell.'' Sakura replied. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

''Kyoko's dad was killed on an A-Rank mission on Christmas Day when she was nine.'' Naruto glared at him.

''Sasuke, that's bullshit and you know it. Her father died AFTER he completed the mission _successfully._'' Naruto snapped. He hated it when Sasuke tried to tell it that way. It made Kyoko's father seem weak, when he wasn't. Sasuke scowled harder and looked away.

''So, why did she leave, if she wasn't going to decorate?'' Kankuro asked.

''Did you see the way she looked at me?'' Everyone was surprised when Gaara finally spoke up, and took a moment to remember and consider.

''No.'' They all answered in unison, except for Sasuke and Temari.

''She looked horrified.'' Temari noted. Gaara nodded.

''She must have heard of me one way or another.'' he said logically. Sasuke glanced in the direction Kyoko went off to.

''I don't think she was afraid of you.'' he muttered. Gaara stared at him.

''What else could it be, Uchiha?''

''Ask her and find out.'' Sasuke snapped. ''I'm going to go train.'' he hopped off of his stool and started walking toward the training grounds.

Naruto grinned. ''So am I!'' he jumped off his stool and ran off.

Sakura sighed, and turned around in her chair. ''I'm just going to have another bowl of ramen.'' Temari and Kankuro shrugged.

''Lets go to the house.'' Temari suggested. She glanced at Sakura. ''Want to come? We're going to start decorating today.'' Sakura looked up and nodded.

''Eh, sure. Ino's not around, so why not?'' she got off of her stool. Temari nodded, and they went off to the house the Sand Siblings had in Konoha.

/~/

Kyoko decided that it was best she started with getting a tree. A medium sized one, of course, since her apartment wasn't really big. She looked around, wondering which one she'd get. Even after all these years of never stepping foot in a place to buy Christmas trees, she was still just as picky about it. She looked around some more, until she saw the perfect one. She almost felt a rush of joy, but it quickly evaporated when she remembered how enthusiastic her father used to be. Her heart ached. She sighed. She went and payed for it, then returned and stared at it. How the hell was she going to get it to her apartment on the fourth floor? She smacked her forehead. ''GOD DAMN IT!''

/~/

Sakura sat on the hard wood floor of the No Sabaku's house, sorting through decoration boxes and giggling at the silliest ones she saw. Temari was hanging up things on the wall, and Gaara sitting on the couch and staring at the radio, which was playing 'Jingle Bells', with disdain.

''Lighten up, Gaara.'' Temari demanded, not having to look at the young Kazekage to know that his face was twisted in a disgusted scowl.

Kankuro walked in. ''Yeah, lighten up. I'm gonna get a Christmas tree, and you're coming with me.'' he said, putting on a heavy looking jacket. Gaara glared at him.

''Just what makes you say that?'' Kankuro walked over to the radio, turned up the volume, and raised an eyebrow at the red head. Gaara instantly stood up and started toward the door.

''Move your ass, Kankuro.'' Kankuro grinned, following after his little brother.

''Make sure to get the biggest one, boys!'' Temari called after them.

''I'm not made of money, you know!'' Gaara snapped back.

''That's what you'd like to think!'' Kankuro laughed. In a few minutes, the two siblings were frantically looking around for the biggest Christmas tree in the lot. Gaara noticed the girl from before, Kyoko, intently staring at a tree. He watched her. She had dark teal eyes and bright orange hair that reached her mid back in a braid. Her bangs were swept to the side, so that she could see. Something seemed to click in the girl's brain and she smacked her forehead.

''GOD DAMN IT!'' Gaara jumped slightly. What was this girl's problem? While Kankuro was inspecting a tree, he walked over.

''Are you okay?'' he asked the girl.

/~/

Kyoko was steaming furiously. Of all the stupidest things that could ever happen, this had to be the stupidest. She couldn't even _lift _this damn thing, much less carry it up four flights of stairs. ''Are you okay?'' The deep, raspy voice made her jump, and she spun around.

''Oh, its you. Hello, Gaara.'' she said, blinking.

''Hello...'' it seemed like he was trying to remember her name. ''Kyoko. What's the problem?'' he asked. Kyoko glanced at the tree, scowling slightly.

''Oh, nothing. I'm just wondering how I'm going to take this back.'' she said, shrugging.

''Hey, Gaara. I got the tree.'' Kankuro walked up, carrying a tree three times bigger than the one Kyoko had. Kyoko's mouth dropped.

''You've got to kidding me.'' Gaara eyed Kankuro for a moment.

''Can you carry that back to the house by yourself?'' Kankuro nodded.

''Yeah, why?'' 'Gaara glanced back at Kyoko, whose heart did a small somersault.

''I'm going to help Kyoko carry her's back. I'll go to the house later.'' he said, nodding at the tree. Kankuro nodded as well. ''Alright, see you later.'' Kyoko's cheeks burned bright red in embarrassment.

''Oh, you don't have to!'' she said, blinking. ''I might be able to carry it myself.'' Gaara had to fight back a smirk.

''Oh really? Let's see you lift it.'' he said.

Kyoko nodded. ''Fine!'' she stared at it for a while. There was no way that was going to happen. After a moment, Gaara looked back at Kankuro.

''Like I said, I'll be there later.'' Kankuro smirked, and turned to leave. Kyoko's cheeks turned a darker red.

/~/

Gaara, instead of calling out his sand, lifted up the tree with ease and sent Kyoko just the smallest of smirks. He noticed Kyoko had to fight back a glare.

''Come on, let's go.'' Gaara followed her, and for a few minutes, there was silence. ''Do you usually put up a Christmas tree?'' It was a stupid question, of course. He already knew. He saw Kyoko tense up. He was walking a little behind her, and noticed how her shoulders shot up.

''No, not really.'' she admitted, walking a little slower.

''Really? How come?'' Gaara knew he shouldn't push it, but he wanted to hear her own story instead of the most likely bullshit he heard from Uchiha.

''My dad died a ton of years ago. Christmas just makes me a little uncomfortable.'' she said casually, but Gaara heard a small crack in her voice. Gaara stopped asking questions. Before he could say anything else, or apologize, Kyoko walked into a build and started walking towards some stairs. Gaara used his sand to carry the tree now, and followed her. Kyoko pulled out some keys, and after four flights of stairs, she stopped at the end of a hall. She looked down at her welcome mat, lifted it and sighed. Gaara noticed a small card under it. She ripped it in half and unlocked the door, throwing the card pieces in a trash can.

Gaara stepped in with the tree, looking around. The place was neat and clean, but kind of small. He wondered if Kyoko lived alone. Sure, it was small, but it was big enough for two people at least, so it wasn't _that _small. Kyoko put her keys in a bowl that sat on the counter that separated the little kitchen from the living room.

''Thanks a lot for helping me, Gaara.'' she said.

Gaara nodded. ''You're welcome. Where should I set it down?'' he asked. Kyoko pointed to a corner near the couch.

''Over there's fine.'' Gaara went and set the tree down as carefully as possible. He turned around and saw Kyoko staring at something on the counter. He got a little closer and blinked. The man in the picture looked a lot like him. Minus the short height and the dark circles around Gaara's eyes. Another difference was that he was smiling brightly and carrying a little girl on his back.

Without thinking, Gaara asked, ''Is that your father?'' Kyoko nodded, blinking. Gaara was certain that she was fighting back tears.

''Yes.'' Gaara felt something pang in his chest. Whether it was sadness, guilt, or both, he didn't like it at all. He also didn't like how broken that single answer sounded. A phone rang, and Kyoko jumped to answer it. She cleared her throat, took and deep breath and quickly wiped something away from her eyes.

''Hello? Hm? Yeah, he's here. You need him to go over there? Okay. I'll tell him. No. No. Yes. Maybe some other time. Yeah, yeah.'' Kyoko put a hand to the phone to cover it and glanced at Gaara with a smile that was painfully, obviously fake.''Well, it seems like they want you to use your sand to put the star up.'' she said.

Gaara blinked. He could tell that she absolutely didn't want him to go.''They have a stool.'' he said.

/~/

Kyoko blinked, glanced at the phone in her hands, and then back at Gaara. She put the phone up to her ear. ''He says you have a stool.''

''But Temari says that it'll be easier to just get him here.'' Sakura whined on the other line.

''Don't whine. I'll ask again.'' Kyoko said, rolling her eyes and covering the phone again. ''She says that Temari thinks it'll be easier if you just go over there.'' Gaara rolled his eyes and nodded.

''Tell her I'll be there in a few minutes.'' he muttered. Kyoko nodded.

''He'll be there in a few minutes.'' she said into the phone. Gaara opened the door and started walking out. Kyoko hung up.

''Wait!'' she said, without thinking. Gaara turned to look at her.

''Thanks for the help, again.'' she said. Gaara smiled slightly at her, and nodded, walking out. Kyoko's heart thundered rapidly as the door shut.

''Wow...'' she mumbled. She stood there for a moment, clutching her chest. She shook her head and went to her closet, pulling out a large box of dusty Christmas decorations. She scowled at the sight of them, and dragged them to the living room in front of the couch. She sat, and sighed, turning on her mp3.

_It's Christmas time and Santa's here,  
Making the children smile_

Kyoko frowned. Great. Christmas songs.

_But he's just a pedophile_

Kyoko laughed and sang along, taking out the decorations and dancing around. She liked this singer's style.

_So you better watch yo child.  
Christmas trees in every house  
Covered in shiny lights_

Kyoko glanced at her tree.

_But they just turn brown and die,  
Or set your whole house on fire _

She scoffed and went to hang up a wreath.

_These are the reasons I hate the seasons, but imma give it a try. _

_Maybe this year I wont be sad on Christmas_

_Maybe I'll have a happy holiday._

Kyoko smiled, thinking of Gaara. She was slightly surprised at that, considering she only just met the man.

_Replace my heart ache and my pain,  
With mistletoe and candy cane  
This Christmas, could go my way. _

Kyoko put the tree in it's stand, with only a little bit of trouble.

_Having fun with all your friends,  
Sipping on that eggnog,_

Kyoko made a face. She _hated _eggnog. It just tasted extremely weird.

_But it just looks like jizz  
All over your upper lips._

She burst out laughing, thinking that it looked exactly like what the singer described.

_House made out of ginger bread  
Cookies like Christmas trees_  
_Giving ya heart disease  
And type 2 diabetes. _

That part wasn't surprising. Kyoko shrugged and went to her fridge, pulling out a pack of Christmas cookies she got on sale. Hey, they were good and cheap.

_These are the reasons I hate the seasons, but imma give it a try._

_Maybe this year I wont be sad on Christmas_  
_Maybe I'll have a happy holiday._  
_Replace my heart ache and my pain,_  
_With mistletoe and candy cane_  
_This Christmas, could go my way_.

_I've never seen reindeer fly  
I've never heard the sleigh bells ring  
I've never seen a snowman come to life  
I've never heard the angels sing  
But I hope, and I pray  
That maybe this Christmas day  
That'll change. _

Kyoko sat on the couch. The apartment, since it was little, was almost done. She had the picture of her father in her lap and she stared at the unfinished tree. Her heart began to ache just a bit, but it the ache soon vanished when the song started up again, much more cheerfully. She got up and started to dance around again, singing along, not too loudly so the other tenants wouldn't complain.

_Maybe this year I wont be sad on Christmas  
Maybe I'll have a happy holiday.  
Replace my heart ache and my pain,  
With mistletoe and candy cane  
This Christmas, could go my way._

_Maybe this year I wont be sad on Christmas_  
_Maybe I'll have a happy holiday._  
_Replace my heart ache and my pain,_  
_Let's just dance the night away._  
_This Christmas, is going my way._

_Just dance with me._

_**AN**_**: **It's not even Christmas anymore, but I got the idea so why not. The character here is named Kyoko Tachibana. She's seventeen years old, a skilled Chunin and her mother is still alive. Obviously, the love interest here is Gaara. Because I thought, why not. Again. Woo hoo. The song is 'Maybe This Christmas' by Shane Dawson.


End file.
